Michael McGarrity - Hermit_s Peak

It wasn't like Orlando to treat his job lightly. Unless he was sick, Gabe couldn't remember a time when Orlando had missed work. Even though Orlando's car wasn't in the driveway, Gabe went to the bottom of the stairs, called out, and got no response. To be doubly sure, he checked Orlando's room and found it empty.

The messages had come in during the first hour Orlando had been scheduled to work. Maybe something had come up at school to make him run late. Gabe called the burger joint and asked for Orlando. The night shift manager, still sounding pissed, told him Orlando had been a no-show.

Gabe's thoughts turned to Captain Garduno's briefing on the special surveillance operation Chief Kerney had ordered on Bernardo.

He got out the copy of Kerney's report Garduno had given him, read through it, and stared out the kitchen window hoping Orlando hadn't kissed off work to hang out with Bernardo.

He dialed Ben Morfin's cell phone number.

"This is Morfin."

"Ben, are you and Thorpe on station?"

"You bet," Ben said.

"Is my son with the subject?"

"Negative. The subject is home. He arrived alone and there have been no visitors."

"Thanks."

"You got a problem, Lieutenant?"

"It's probably nothing."

"You want me to keep an eye out for your son?"

"It wouldn't hurt," Gabe replied.

"What does your son drive?" Ben asked.

Gabe rattled off the information, including the license plate number.

"Got it," Ben said.

"He's probably out cruising. If I see him on the streets, I'll chase him home and give you a call."

"Thanks."

"Anytime, LT. Way to go on the promotion."

"Thanks, Ben." Gabe hung up and tried to remember when Orlando was planning to visit his mother in Albuquerque.

He thought it was next week, but he couldn't be sure. He punched in Theresa's numbers, and her boyfriend answered.

"Is Orlando there?"

"No. You want to talk to Theresa?"

"Just ask her when Orlando is due to visit."

There was a muffled exchange and Theresa came on the line.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, sounding terse.

"Not really. Orlando isn't home and I couldn't remember when he was going down to Albuquerque to see you."

"Late next week. Why are you looking for him?"

"To tell him something."

"It must be important or you wouldn't have called me. Should I know?"

Gabe hesitated.

"Should I?"

"I wanted to tell Orlando that my promotion came through." Silence greeted his announcement.

Finally, Theresa responded.

"I hope it makes you happy. Personally, I could care less."

Gabe hung up without saying another word.

He spent the next several hours at the kitchen table taking the sergeant stripes off his uniform shirts and sewing doth lieutenant bars on the collars. He'd purchased the new insignias several months ago in a moment of optimism.

Gabe had half a mind to go looking for Orlando, but held back. Orlando didn't need an overprotective cop father looking for him in the middle of the night. He was over twenty-one, technically an adult, and a hell of a good kid to boot. If he needed a night out to blow off some steam, so be it.

Gabe stripped down to his underwear, dumped his clothes on top of the dresser, and climbed into bed. He wanted to get an early start in the morning. There was still a bunch of work to do on the AlaridSantistevan bust, and he planned to get settled into his new office before the shift began.

Gabe checked Orlando's room early in the morning. His bed hadn't been slept in. He decided to think positively about Orlando's overnight absence. The kid didn't talk about his love life, and Gabe didn't pry.

Sometimes Orlando would stay out all night, come home looking pleased with himself, and shrug off any mention of where he'd been. Within a couple of days, Orlando would start getting lots of phone calls. When that happened, Gabe didn't see much of his son until Orlando's interest in the girl cooled off.

He got to work before the day shift arrived and found a hand-carved name plaque with his new rank and name on the desk in his new office. A card rested against the plaque. The gift was from Captain Garduno.

Gabe unpacked some personal gear he'd brought from home. He put a framed enlargement of Orlando's senior high school yearbook picture on the desk and hung a few of his department commendations on the wall.

Then he cleared out his paperwork from the watch commanders' cubicle and dumped it on the floor next to his office desk. He put the Alarid-Santistevan case file on top of the stack and checked with dispatch to get an update on the Barela surveillance. Bernardo had stayed home all night with no visitors.

That made Gabe feel better about things. Orlando had probably spent the night with some girl. What normal kid wouldn't trade a night of flipping burgers for a hot date with a babe? If there was a new girl in Orlando's life, maybe that was part of the reason he was restless to move. Maybe the girl was graduating, going to Albuquerque, and Orlando wanted to be with her. If so, then it all made even more sense.

He left a message on the answering machine at home for Orlando to call him at the office, and hung up as the day shift trickled in. He spent some time accepting congratulations, along with the usual kidding, teasing, and small gifts that went with them, before the troops started work.

He put the Alarid-Santistevan files for his meeting with the ADA in his briefcase and looked up to find Art Garda standing in the doorway. New sergeant chevrons decorated his uniform shirt.

"Those stripes look good on you. Art," Gabe said.

"You want to go in on a promotion party with me?"

Garda forced a smile.

"Yeah, let's do that."

"What's wrong?"

"A rancher just called in the license plate of an abandoned vehicle south of town, on the Gallinas River. Dispatch ran it through Motor Vehicles. It's your son's car."

"Orlando didn't come home last night."

"It may mean nothing, Gabe. The rancher said kids use that spot along the river all the time to party. Maybe Orlando just left his car and went off with some friends."

"Who's the rancher?"

"Arlin Pullerton."

"Did he give you directions?"

Art held out a slip of paper.

"Call Pullerton back and have him meet me there.

Tell dispatch to cancel my meeting with the DA's office.

I'll reschedule later."

"You want somebody to go with you?"

Gabe shook his head as he hurried out the door.

Garda found Captain Garduno making coffee in the break room and filled him in.

Garduno put the pot down.

"Is that all you have?"

"So far."

"Is Bemaido Barela still at home?"

"No. He's sitting in a truck outside a hardware store.

You want him picked up?"

"Negative. Call Chief Kerney and brief him. Then put search and rescue on standby, including bloodhounds.

When did Gabe leave?"

"Two minutes ago."

"I'm on my way," Garduno said.

Orlando's car was unlocked and his keys were in the ignition. A bank envelope sat on the dashboard. Gabe reached in through the open window, picked it up, and counted the bills-over seven hundred dollars. There were two withdrawal slips and a pay stub, all with yesterday's date. Orlando had cashed his check and zeroed out his accounts.

He looked at Garduno and fanned the bills.

"Orlando would never do this with his money. Never. Or leave his keys in an unlocked car."

"Take it easy, Gabe," Garduno said.

"You can't always tell what kids will do. When Orlando shows up, I'm sure he can explain everything."

"Orlando didn't party here last night. Nobody did.

Look around. There's no fresh litter or beer bottles anywhere."

"Maybe the party was over there." Gaiduno raised his chin toward the crumbling walls of two old homesteads that flanked the dirt road.